PHILADELPHIA—The symmetry is hard to ignore. On Nov. 14, 1999, then-rookie quarterback Donovan McNabb made his NFL starting debut for the Eagles against the Redskins, leading a 35-28 win that marked the beginning of his prosperous career as the team’s franchise QB.

Exactly 13 years to the day, Eagles rookie quarterback Nick Foles took the first-team reps in practice as he prepares to make his NFL starting debut against the Redskins and become a savior to a franchise in transition.

Is Nick Foles the next Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia? The two Eagles quarterbacks have some eery similarities in their career beginnings. (AP Photo)

With a concussion sidelining Michael Vick for Sunday’s game and probably longer, Foles moves into the starting spot and has a chance to prove that he can be the franchise quarterback the Eagles have lacked since they traded McNabb to the Redskins.

The Eagles drafted Foles in the third round but have long believed that the former Arizona quarterback has the makeup of an NFL starting quarterback. The Eagles also liked Russell Wilson, who was picked 13 spots higher than Foles and earned the starting job right away for Seattle, which is 6-4 and very much alive in the playoff race.

Foles has already shown good mobility for his size (6-6, 243) and the ability to keep his eyes upfield when forced out of the pocket. In the preseason, he threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Damaris Johnson after being flushed way to his right when protection broke down against a four-man Steelers rush.

In his debut against Dallas, after replacing Vick, Foles managed to avoid a sack and scramble away from pressure before heaving a 44-yard touchdown bomb to a wide-open Jeremy Maclin.

Foles also made a couple of dangerous throws against the Cowboys, as rookies tend to do, but generally threw with accuracy and showed a very strong arm.